Department for Transport

Department for Communities and Local Government

*No heading*

baroness lister of burtersett: Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 5 July (HL Deb, col 899), whether they will produce the necessary resources to ensure that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have sufficient funds to cover discretionary housing payments for as long as they are needed.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: We have relaxed the benefit rules for anyone affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, which means that payments from the Grenfell Tower residents’ discretionary fund do not affect any social security benefit.Guidance issued to local authorities on 23 June 2017, re-enforced that former Grenfell residents should be treated as a priority for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) and local authorities in the surrounding areas have confirmed that they would see former residents as a priority for DHP funding where needed, following the 12 month rent free period.The guidance (attached) can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hb-bulletin-u32017-discretionary-housing-payments-to-former-residents-of-grenfell-tower 



Discretionary housing payments
(PDF Document, 92.08 KB)

Housing Starts

baroness neville-rolfe: Her Majesty's Government what are the annual figures for housing starts in (1) the United Kingdom; and (2) England, from 1979 to 2016; and how these figures compare to the equivalent figures for (a) Germany, (b) France, (c) Ireland and (d) Poland.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: New build dwelling starts for the United Kingdom and England for 1979 to 2016 are shown in the table below. These cover new build dwellings only and should be regarded only as an approximate leading indicator of overall housing supply.The Department also publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply. The most recent publication can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/housing-supply-net-additional-dwellings-england-2015-to-2016The Department does not hold figures for Germany, France, Ireland, or Poland. Table 1. New build dwelling starts for the United Kingdom and England  United KingdomEnglandYearNew build dwelling startsNew build dwelling starts1979231,700190,5801980160,360129,7401981158,810130,7601982200,650165,6501983228,350189,0101984204,930168,7201985206,120169,9201986218,380181,7601987234,760196,8001988259,560217,2901989208,100165,2201990171,633133,4701991170,687133,8001992164,147129,3001993193,383151,2301994210,993165,4401995178,387136,2301996185,827144,7101997200,813157,5701998187,920149,4001999191,124148,3702000186,182142,6102001192,063146,7702002194,369150,7002003208,502161,2802004227,984176,6802005224,445173,9002006223,953170,6102007234,353183,6002008141,772106,8902009114,27485,6002010139,234110,6602011138,438113,2602012125,345101,0202013149,937124,7902014169,907140,7602015177,281146,0902016..153,560 Sources:United Kingdom and England (Department for Communities and Local Government, Welsh Assembly Government, Scottish Government, Department of Finance (Northern Ireland), District Council Building Control (Northern Ireland). Released 25 May 2017. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

Home Office

Religious Buildings: Islam

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 5 July (HL16), whether they have raised the foreign funding of UK mosques and Islamic centres with foreign states, including Qatar.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government does not routinely raise the foreign funding of places of worship in the UK through its bilateral relationships with foreign governments. On Wednesday 12 July 2017, the Government laid a Written Ministerial Statement in Parliament which conveyed the main findings of the Government’s review into the funding for Islamist extremist activity in the UK. The review has improved the Government’s understanding of the nature, scale and sources of funding for Islamist extremism in the UK. The review’s single most important finding was that the most significant source of funding for Islamist extremism in the UK is small, private donations from UK-based individuals. Often these individuals do not appreciate the extremist credentials of those they are donating to. The Government’s response prioritises tackling the domestic sources of extremism but the Government is committed to tackling all sources, including from overseas. The Government will continue to work with its international partners to combat extremism and where necessary will raise issues of concern in our bilateral relationships. The Counter-Extremism Strategy sets out the Government’s plans for engaging internationally on extremism. The Charity Commission will be introducing a requirement on charities to declare overseas sources of funding to increase transparency in this area.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Homelessness

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government from how many air-pollution monitors official data on air quality within the perimeter of Heathrow airport are derived; and where those monitors are located.

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last held discussions with senior managers of Govia Thameslink Railway about train cancellations on their services.

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether when undertaking further work on the options for airport expansion they will include a review of the current safety and security risks associated with each option for expansion.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Time spent in temporary accommodation means that no family with a child ever has to be without a roof over their heads. The number of households in temporary accommodation is well below the peak over a decade ago, in 2005.But temporary accommodation is an intermediate measure. This government changed the law to allow councils to place families in decent and affordable private rented homes. This means homeless households do not have to wait as long for settled accommodation, spending less time in temporary accommodation.We have also replaced DWP’s Temporary Accommodation Management Fee with a Flexible Homelessness Support Grant which local authorities can use more strategically to prevent and tackle homelessness. This amounts to £402m over the two years from 2017/18.This government is implementing the most ambitious legislative reform in decades, the Homelessness Reduction Act, which significantly reforms England’s homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.The Act places duties on local authorities to intervene at earlier stages to prevent homelessness in their areas. It also requires local authorities to provide new homelessness services to all those affected, not just those who are protected under existing legislation.I will place detailed figures in the Library of the House.